Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Cookbook Week: Risotto and Collards

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A savory meal that was bursting with greens! Liz made a double serving of Risotto with Oyster Mushrooms, Leeks, and Peas, and a lovely side of Sicilian Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins. Both of these recipes were from The Kind Diet, and both dishes have completely disappeared. The huge, beautiful kale salad you see was one of Liz's own recipes, and featured avocado, black sesame seeds, and Parma! Everything was scrumptious and promptly devoured.

The Goods: From the looks of the responses to yesterday's post, you all love some salad! We couldn't agree more—you might have noticed that just about every single post on this blog features some sort of leafy mixture. Speaking of things you might have noticed on this blog, we're giving away Alicia Silverstone's book! Congrats to GreyShore, who is the winner from yesterday's comments! GreyShore, send us an email, and we'll mail out your copy! To be entered to win today's copy, leave a comment with your answer to this question: Do you like raisins in savory food (such as in today's lovely collards?)

83 comments:

Yes, I love raisins in savory grain or salad dishes. They add just a bit of sweetness to make the dish pop! My love of raisins in savory dishes has now led me to experiment with dates in a variety of my favorite salads. Yum....

I actually prefer them (especially the golden variety!) in savory dishes such as the posted recipe, or dishes such as dolmas, rice dishes, tart sauces for savory foods, etc. They're especially good if they're rehydrated during cooking so they're nice and plump versus chewy and dense.

I'm not a huge raisin fan (I also sub cranberries whenever they are called for), but after trying Bryant Terry's Citrus Collards with Raisins, I think I've been converted. They turn all plump, juicy and fruity - almost like they've turned back into grapes! Yum!

Up until two days ago, I would have said "absolutely not you sick freak". But now, I must admit that I have recently tasted the most amazing antipasti dish from a vegan-friendly joint here in NYC called Pala. It's called "zucca" and aside from plump golden raisins, it contains roasted butternut squash and carmelized onions. Basically, it was heaven in my mouth.

Yes, I love the touch of sweetness they bring to savory food. More often than not, though, I'll substitute dried cranberries, apricots, or even dates for the raisins because, for some reason, I'm not a huge raisins fan (even in sweet food).